Making Tracks

Things seem a bit quiet of late here on the blog. Everyone must be busy modelling!

For my own part, I've spent what little modelling time I've had available making track for my GJLC entry. Most of the plain track is now finished and I've started on the pointwork. These are being made using the excellent jigs available from Shop 1.


The photo shows the first turnout part-completed. There will only be two turnouts on the layout, both of standard B7 left hand geometry. Once these are done I will move onto the traintables planned for each end of the layout. In the background of the photo can be seen some of the rolling stock also under construction for the layout.

And as if making track in 2mm scale wasn't enough, I spend the occasional weekend working in a slightly larger scale:

The photo shows some 2ft gauge track panels that have been built as part of the Moseley Railway Trust's project to build a railway at the Apedale Heritage Centre near Stoke-on-Trent. The railway will eventually carry passengers from an existing museum and cafe up into the adjacent country park.

Andy

On the fiddle

More progress at Fence Houses, but on one of the fiddle yard boards this time.
Thanks to Les and Simon, also (out of view), David.
Thanks lads, good progress today.

Bob.

Tornado at Darlington

The latest progress as witnessed by three of us today, Sunday 27th April 2008.
We are told that she should be running outside the shed, sometime in June, prior to going to the Great Central for trials later on in the year.
Most impressive seems a tame description!
I've been impressed by the business like management approach of the people in charge of this magnificent project, and to hear all the trials and tribulations that they have overcome, shows this was never a 'Mickey mouse' enterprise.
Well it's on the final leg now, and there seems no doubt the end (or the beginning) is in sight.
Excuse the blurred picture of Alan and Les, must have been the excitement shacking my camera hand!

Bob.

Ashes to Ashes...

My first posting in a while and my first with pictures for even longer! To me ballasting = procrastination and I have taken far longer to ballast the layout than intended. It really is a boring job and it was easy to find an excuse to walk the dog, go to the pub, watch telly, anything in fact to avoid the dreaded 'B' word! However a layout can all to easily be let down by poor ballasting so I had to get it right.

Having used steel rail and card-clad foamcore boards I was not happy about the 'put your ballast on dry and then soak it' approach. I therefore determined to use a quick drying adhesive and to apply the ballast on top of it. This was done in a centrally heated room to ensure the moisture had little chance to soak into the foamcore or rust the rails.


The North Eastern Railway commonly used ash ballast on its secondary lines, branch lines and sidings. This was perpetuated by the LNER and BR-North Eastern Region. Niddbeck Bridge therefore had to have a representation of ash ballast. For several years I have been experimenting with various proprietry brands of ballast. I eventually settled on a 50/50 mix of Woodland Scenics Fine Cinders and Busch fine black quartz sand, mixed in a large pudding basin with a balloon whisk (Mrs S went ape-shite - do not try doing this at your home!). This gives a satisfying dark, fine finish that I find pleasing to the eye (the pictures here show it quite a bit lighter than it really is. Real ash ballast can of course take on various hues, for instance when it is wet it appears much darker than when dry. It was the dark, damp look I was after and I'm fairly happy so far.


This is the adhesive I used, DeLuxe Materials 'Super 'Phatic', which is an aliphatic resin woodworking glue. It looks like a white PVA glue but is thinner, has a bluish tint and dries quicker. I built my foamcore baseboards with it and also laid my track with it. This particular size comes with a hypo needle applicator (see below)


The tool at the top is a stainless dental type probe, purchased from Squires. I have modified one end to the shape shown (flat straight base with slight upturn at the end). The point has been blunted using a tool stone. I found this shape ideal for moving the aliphatic adhesive around between the sleepers and point timbering, and for working it under the rail. The flat straight base allows the adhesive to be worked into a neat straight shoulder with ease.

The tool at the bottom is the hypo needle applicator for the adhesive. As supplied, although very small bored, it does deliver too much glue at once, so I have gently squeezed and flared the tip in a vice, to the point where the tip of a scalpel blade will just fit in. This reduces the flow to a nice level. Care must be taken to clean the nozzle under a running tap frequently or it will block. 5 minutes is about all I could risk in a warm room. Blow it through to check it is clear before putting it away! A few spare applicators come in handy (via the Deluxe Materials online store).


My ballast application tool - the spoon end of a Tamiya paint tool. This allows small precise loads of ballast to be placed accurately.

The spatula end of the same Tamiya paint spatula/spoon. It is easy to dip this into a jam jar full of ballast mix and balance a 25-30mm long load on it. It is then moved to the location required, parallel to the rail, and tipped onto the adhesive.


This shows the aliphatic adhesive applied from the bottle using the modified hypo applicator. It is easy to work between the sleepers and point timbering with the hypo applicator.

This shot shows the glue evenly spread around the sleepers and up to to the shoulder mark, using the shaped probe tool. The arrow is to remind me where the uncoupling magnet is located!

This shot shows the ballast tipped/spooned onto the wet adhesive using the Tamiya paint spatula/spoon, to the point where no adhesive moisture can be see through the loose ballast. At this stage it is lightly tamped down with a finger tip and left to dry.

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This shot is taken about 30 minutes later, after the adhesive has dried. The surplus is simply vacuumed away (the whole layout has only consumed about 1/3 of a jam jar of ballast mix - hardly worth the effort of trying to recycle the hoovered up surplus). A scrub with an old toothbrush follows to remove the less then well glued grains. Any patches that are a bit light simply get a further local applicaton of adhesive and ballast.

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The track and ballast will need a gentle airbrushing with a matt varnish and dirty thinners mix in due course, to take the 'new' look off it. I will apply the other scenic dressings to the layout before doing this, so it can all be blended in nicely.

A Grand Day Out

In the spirit of cooperation for all of you building Challenge Layouts here are some photos taken at Beamish today; perhaps they will prove useful to budding crane builders or point interlacers.

Golden Years

Another NEAG meeting and more interesting stuff than I can take in! Once again Bob has a bit of Fencehouses up and running and we get to see his beautiful double junction. The D49 gets a bit of a run out and some useful tips are picked up for its improvement.

Meanwhile the rest of Bournmoor is in brown-out as we get the similtaneous use of several RSUs. It was interesting as a commited iron-user to see these in use; bravo to Rod for taking the plunge after all of these years. It was also good to see the Judith Edge kits brought along by Steve; a challenge if ever I saw one.

Finally, I managed to get a first view of the baseboards for "Brafferton". Again I've benefitted from the knowledge and skills of members where I have little to speak of! Alan Smith redesigned my boards and I now have five making the full circle. This avoids the layout potentially "breaking its back" as each joint is opposite a solid piece of baseboard; something which six boards singularly fails to do! Alan cut the wood with his CNC facilities making an all but perfect job - the circle is perfect and the edges require only slight sanding to be baby's-bum smooth. Additionally I have taken the opportunity to stretch the scenic section to three boards or 60% of the circle as opposed to 50% originally. This may take it slightly outside the Layout Challenge criteria, but I'm sure I can blag that somehow...

Thanks to Mick Simpson for the photo.

Next step is to get the boards assembled and start on some legs; these should be within my capability (I hope!).

Wasted Years

Another successful NEAG meeting yesterday on the use of RSUs.

The box with my RSU still contained the packing and the London Road Models receipt dated 28th May 1996!!!

With assistance from Steven Harold and David Long, the wiring was sorted out and connected to give the 1.5v supply, and, full of trepidation, a start was made. I've been told in the past that it is best policy to practice first on scraps of metal before trying the "real thing", but what the heck. I know I've waited twelve years - that's long enough.

Out with the Brake Van kits I started at York Show on the 2mm stand. Damn! Left the three chassis at home!

So, start with the fold-up axleboxes. Steady as you go. Cut one end, bend up, apply solder paste, fold double. Make sure the two sides are exactly lined up, apply the black wire to the etch, touch the axlebox with the tip, and press the pedal for a second or two. A sizzle, let go the pedal, take off the tip - success, it has soldered beautifully. Eleven repeats result in twelve axleboxes ready for attachment - and it is still not teatime!

What next? Well the verandah ends have proved a little problematic in previous kits, so lets try them. Cut the inner leaf out, drill the lamp bracket hole, apply solder paste to the back of the inner leaf and place it on top of the (back) of the outer leaf. After making sure it is correctly aligned, apply the black wire to the etch and work the tip round the leaf, depressing the pedal intermittently until you hear the sizzle. Result - by teatime, four verandah ends produced and within 15 minutes of resuming, the remaining two ends done.

The question now is, why did I wait 12 years to try it? I don't really understand HOW it works but it DOES work, and it seems to be much easier (it is definitely much tidier) than using an ordinary soldering iron.

The moral has to be "Don't put off trying something because it is new to you. Have a go and you will surprise yourself how easy it is." Don't waste 12 years like I did.

Rod.